Hollow core doors are known in the art. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,168, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. A typical hollow core door includes a perimeter frame with vertically extending stiles and top and bottom rails, with a pair of opposing door skins secured to the frame parameter.
Three dimensional molded hollow core doors are also known. For example, three dimensional molded hollow core doors are disclosed in the aforesaid '168 patent. Molded hollow core doors include at least one door skin which is molded, e.g. so as to define a plurality of recessed panels and adjacent planar portions. Such doors are viewed by many in the trade as aesthetically attractive in certain settings.
Unfortunately, molded hollow core doors, while being attractive, suffer from at least the following problems. First, they are more expensive to make than flat-skinned hollow core doors due to the increased cost of a molded skin relative to a flat skin. Second, problems may arise in the manufacture of molded door skins when molds misregister. Third, the molding requirements limit the types of material (which are often expensive) that the base door skin may be made of.
It is apparent from the above that there exists a need in the art for a door which has the aesthetically pleasing qualities of a molded hollow core door (or of a wood carved door), yet the economic practicality and efficiency of a flat-skinned hollow core door.
It is a purpose of this invention to fulfill the above-described needs in the art, as well as other needs which will become apparent to the skilled artisan from the following detailed description of this invention.